by Donna Swagerty Shreve
Lodi Unified School District in 1976 has been unified for about ten years. Many small independent schools had been caught up in the sweep for unification. Venice-King School became a prime example. The two-room school was located at the west end of Eight Mile Road situated near a trailer park. The delta islands had built that school that became the social center of the sparsely populated area.
This remote school needed two teachers as the previous teachers had left and Duane Ostgaard, our principal, had the dubious job of obtaining two teachers to volunteer. Duane had Elkhorn School with eight teachers, Henderson School with three and Venice King with two. I have always been one to take more risks than most so I was the first teacher to agree to a year in the boonies. Now Duane had to find someone who would join me.
I was not your average teacher and this made Duane’s chore that much more difficult. After several tries he found Phylicia Brozene who was a very established traditional teacher twenty years older than I was. We knew each other as fellow staff members but nothing beyond that connection. To this day I am not sure why she volunteered for such a challenging assignment.
We lived within a few miles of each other so we agreed to car pool. We went out during the summer to get the school ready by our standards. As we did our first tour we were appalled by one of the previous teachers. She had left everything on the walls and in her desk. Staring at Valentines on the wall in July told more us about that teacher than we really wanted to know. After we had cleaned out the crud of the previous occupants we started to make the place ours!
The site had an official office with a desk, phone, sink and many cupboards. Connected to the office was a walkthrough that had a teacher bathroom on the left and a cushioned bench on the right we used for a bed for sick students. We became a bit alarmed when we pulled out the two large drawers under the bed/bench and found a body bag! Several friends gave suggestions for why the school came with such an article and none of them were reassuring. Continuing through the “nurse’s room” was the kitchen. It had a kitchen table, sink, stove and refrigerator. We hosted many a fancy lunch for visiting people over the next months.
Beyond the kitchen/office wing was the first classroom. Next was a small library and then the second classroom. Louvered doors divided the rooms but we opened up the entire area and had one large classroom and used the library as a small group instruction area. Leading out of each classroom was a corridor with two large bathrooms and a janitor closet. The delta residents had built a beautiful little school and we were determined to make the best of it.
To add to the challenge of the remote location, we were given overflow fourth graders from various areas in North Stockton. Many parents were not thrilled to have their darlings so far down the road. If we ever had a need to call the sheriff, which we did, it would take them half an hour to arrive. Surrounding the school building was vast expanse of grass and minimal equipment. The grass was so tough that Lodi maintenance team would try new equipment on the wire grass to see if it could hold up. Just beyond the grass area was a nature center a previous teacher had set up. Nature had reclaimed most of it but our principal organized a group of volunteers to come out with weed whackers and attempt to get it back to a usable space. Of note was a memorial set up for a former student who had died in a tragic accident.
Birds and various other critters loved our area. Located in the delta drew in various waterfowl throughout the seasons. A covey of quail would greet the two of us when we arrive most mornings. They disappeared when the bus arrived with the children. Many other critters were living amongst us but kept hidden during the day. Next to the school was the old bus shed, which the music teacher took over and renamed the music conservatory when he came out to give music lessons.
Phylicia and I discovered we also were infested with black widows. On our tour of the campus we came upon a door that went into an outside closet on the school’s outer wall. Phylicia had the large ring of keys and found the key for that door. When she opened the door we quickly counted at least ten black widows before we slammed the door. Being the do it yourselfers that we were, we decided we could solve this infestation. We drove back to Phylicia’s home to get her sprayer, which she filled with lethal spray. We organized our attack with me opening the door as she then sprayed the contents. This would have been a great plan if the sprayer had not malfunctioned and sprayed Phylicia instead. The door slammed shut again and we rushed Phylicia home so she could shower. No need for the body bag. We then had the custodian take care of our spider problem.
We continued our classroom renovation during the next two months. One morning we arrived to be greeted by a crew of landscapers trying to tame the grass. We quickly put on a pot of coffee and greeted them. We were thrilled when anyone made the trek all the way out to our campus. We had bottled water delivered as the ground water had too high a salt content for human consumption. We usually had snacks or something we could serve up on quick notice. We invited them in when they took a break.
When they came in for a break, they had a tale to tell. On a previous visit when we were not there, the head grounds-keeper John and his summer high school assistant were starting their usual routine. John asked his assistant to start moving on the sidepiece along the north side of the school. The young man quickly returned and said he couldn’t mow over there right now. Of course he was asked why and he replied that the dogs wouldn’t let him. John then went around the side of the school to investigate.
John came upon a dozen snarling dogs in a big pack. John had the common sense to walk away calmly and told the boy to join him in the pick-up. Then the two of them drove the small distance to the trailer park to ask to use the phone. John called animal control and apprised them of the situation. They had to wait the next 45 minutes for the officers to arrive. The various farmers’ dogs in the islands sometimes run with the feral dogs and do become a wild pack right out of a Jack London tale. The quiet trailer park was observant and someone called a farmer friend. Soon a man drove up in his pick up truck. He got out and whistled. Two German shepherds came running and got into the back of the pick-up and the farmer drove away. Then along came animal control. Two men got out and went around the corner and started shooting. When the massacre was over they loaded up the bodies and drove away. The mowers could now finish their job. We were stunned.
Finally the first day of school had arrived and our school was ready. The students quickly learned that Mrs. Brozene and Mrs. Shreve were a team that agreed on discipline and teaching. Several tried to ask one of us something and then the other trying to get a different response but to no avail. Interesting to us, we discovered a few of the parents tried a similar technique.
For bookkeeping purposes we had divided the class into two parts for attendance. The first half of the alphabet was Phylicia’s and the last half of the alphabet was mine. The secretary at Elk Horn kept trying to make us seem traditional but we resisted all the way. We received a principal visit once a week if we were lucky. We kept a clipboard on a hook in our office and would add to the list as things came up. It became apparent after a few visits that Duane enjoyed escaping to our campus and there were times when we would let the list go and leave him alone. We had issues come up, of course, that sometimes would not be ignored. Once our office flooded from a broken pipe. We learned how to turn off the water supply and had buckets with water at the ready if we needed them to flush toilets. The head of maintenance came out with a crew and humor ensued. I am guessing he was trying to look like an expert but had miscalculated the situation. Soon there was over two inches of water in the office ready to cause even more damage. With a few smirks some of the crew intervened and that was when Phylicia and I learned about turning off water, starting pumps and various other survival skills we were accumulating.
By October I realized I was pregnant! I was due in April. Whoops! I apologized to Phylicia and we decided to keep it secret as long as possible. She got busy and made matching aprons with pockets to hide my condition when it became more obvious. We ended up loving those aprons as they were very practical. She made at least three sets. I carry my babies high so it was not evident until much closer to the due date.
One day we were in the middle of lessons when we heard rapid gun fire quite close. What to do? The children were alarmed and it was a priority to keep them calm. Phylicia gathered the children into the front classroom and I went to the office. I called the sheriff and was able to tell him the possible gage as the music teacher came in from his music conservatory and recognized which gun probably was shooting. The sheriff would be in there in half an hour. I locked our doors and we carried on with some calming activity. After inspecting the nature area the sheriff concluded a hunter had shot out of season hoping to bag a pheasant.
Our class load hovered around 55 and we were given some students who did not belong in a regular fourth grade classroom. The first one was a girl who spoke no English, just Spanish. She was tiny for a seventh grader and some official thought she could fit in with us. It took about two weeks to finally get her placed where she would have a chance with a proper placement. The next student became a much different challenge.
Scott was of proper age and size but something was not right. Children can be cruel and he was tormented on the playground at lunch. We actually got a duty free lunch while a woman from the trailer park came over for the duty. She was well loved by the students but she was legally blind. She had one half of binoculars that she used to survey the grounds. Her husband had the other half of the binoculars as he also needed help to see. We questioned Duane on one of his visits about his playground helper choice. He said he was lucky to have found her and could we please keep it quiet about her vision. During one of lunch recesses, Scott came sobbing to us in the kitchen. Someone had really done a number on him on the teeter-totters. Phylicia and I took turns talking to the 54 students while the other one walked with Scott around the play yard. We talked about accepting differences in others, ignoring and anything else we could think of to have them leave him alone. Now the problems would occur at the bus stop.
We had the mother come in for a conference because we felt we were not making progress with his learning or social development. Scott was fixated with outer space. He knew so much about that subject but was not interested in learning about any thing else. She listened carefully and then broke down into tears. She then told us Scott had been diagnosed as autistic and previously been a special class at his last school. I quickly inquired at the district level and found that there was such a class within the district and they had room for him. She refused. She wanted Scott around normal children. We had to make the best of it for all concerned.
Setting up an elementary classroom should include pets and plants. We had two rats in a cage. I can’t remember how we were so lucky to have them but they were adored by the children. They endured the petting that comes with being a classroom pet. We also had a chameleon that ate mealworms. One of us had to frequently visit the pet store to keep the lizard happy. One of the rats developed lumps or tumors. The children were horrified and were not willing to accept the usual outcome of such a diagnosis. One of the student’s father was a veterinarian and he volunteered his services and removed the tumors so the rat could enjoy a longer life. Tragedy averted! Then the chameleon became blind and wasn’t able to consume all of the mealworms. Those worms turned into beetles and started in on him. So many lessons can be learned in the classroom.
By chance we had the very best custodian. He came in at night so we did not get to see him. We left him notes and then he left notes for us. I regret so much I did not save those notes. I believe Ed had been career army and was supplementing his income with this part time job. Finding someone willing to drive all the way out to our site for a few hours was not an easy task. Ed was a perfect fit. He offered his observations of our pets and so pleased we saved the rat. He added humor to his notes and knew the trailer park was watching his every move. Phylicia and I were lucky enough to have Ed as our custodian at another school site a few years later and we so enjoyed chatting with him in person. If our classrooms needed anything, he somehow found a way to find that item. Ed took care of those black widows and later a hornets’ nest.
Each day we walked the children to the bus at the end of the day. After they left we would return to the school and lock ourselves in. We would prep for the next day and discuss what went right or wrong that day. It was really team teaching. One day there was a frantic knock at the office door. We went to find a local resident who said the bus driver had sent her as the bus driver had had a minor accident and could we pleased come down to help. I quickly called the district bus dispatcher and grabbed my guitar and off we went. Eight Mile Road is very narrow and has no shoulder. The bus driver had become distracted by unruly students and while turning around to discipline them, had driven into the ditch. It had been very dramatic with the children needing to crawl out an alternative exit as the front door was in the watery ditch. Several of them had bruises and were shook up. I found a grassy area and gathered them around me as we sang songs. Phylicia offered hugs and the bus driver paced the road in a state of shock. To add to the drama, I was eight months pregnant and it was no longer a secret, apron or not. A new bus arrived and the children made it home safely. We certainly had a topic for discussion tomorrow.
At this point Phylicia was concerned about me and my condition. She said she felt like she should follow me around with a waste basket in case I had it on the spot. The principal had found a replacement for me and I was going to take the next month off. A field trip had been planned for Columbia State Park. My final day would be that field trip. The doctor told me a bus ride would certainly help an early delivery so I conceded to ride in a car with our principal. I am sure this made him quite nervous.
Everyone was concerned except me. The day before the field trip I spent the day doing last minute preparations at the school to make my transition easier for the new teacher. I went home exhausted and went into labor soon after. No need to be nervous about me on the field trip. Brad was born 29 days early, a preemie at 8 pounds.
I learned so many things that year out in the boonies. But the best thing I obtained was a life long friendship with Phylicia Brozene. She and I were suppose to write this story together but we never got around to it before she died a few years ago.
1/19/2018
Swagerty-Aldrich Family Web Site 